Researcher Profile and Settings

Affiliation

• Research Faculty of Media and Communication　Media and Communication　Public Language and Communication

Job Title

• Specially Appointed Professor

URL

http://kaken.nii.ac.jp/d/r/30275507.ja.html

J-Global ID

• 201201011052589725

Research Interests

• 議論の構造   異文化コミュニケーション   コミュニケーション   異文化コミュニケーシ   

Research Areas

• Humanities & social sciences / Foreign language education

Educational Organization

•  Master's degree program　Graduate School of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies
•  Doctoral (PhD) degree program　Graduate School of International Media, Communication, and Tourism Studies

Academic & Professional Experience

• 2014/04 - Today Hokkaido University
• 2008 - 2014/03 Hokkaido University

Association Memberships

• SOCIETY FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION TRAINING AND RESEARCH IN JAPAN   National Communication Association   International Communication Association   THE COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION OF JAPAN   

Research Activities

Published Papers

• Changes in Risk Reporting by Japanese and U.S. Corporations, 2010-2019

  Shinobu Suzuki

  Business and Professional Communication Quarterly 2329-4906 2024/03/04 [Refereed]
   

  This study undertakes a cross-cultural examination of corporate risk reporting to test for convergence and divergence perspectives on risk communication. It asks whether the frequencies of risk topics communicated by globalizing organizations from different national cultures become isomorphic or remain culturally distinct. It analyzed longitudinal data on risk factors reported by Japanese and U.S. corporations in their annual reports. It focused on the effects of time and national culture on the frequencies of risk topics. The results provided evidence to support the convergence perspective for the risk topics and the divergence perspective for one of the topics, respectively.
• An adaptationist model of selfhood: Examining the cross‐cultural measurement invariance of the scales of dual independence and interdependence

  Shinobu Suzuki

  Asian Journal of Social Psychology 27 (1) 42 - 59 1367-2223 2023/09/22 [Refereed]
   

  Abstract This study revisits the concepts and measurement scales of Hashimoto and Yamagishi's (Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2016, 19, 286) adaptationist model of self‐construals, which provides a promising framework for intercultural and cross‐cultural research. Responding to a call for the establishment of measurement invariance of the scales across cultures, this study revised the scales and conducted a series of tests including tests of their dimensionality and measurement invariance across cultures. Additionally, this study examined construct and predictive validity of the revised scales across cultures. A total of 649 undergraduates from Japan and the United States were invited to respond to a survey designed for the purposes of the study. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the four‐factor model, which consists of dual interdependence (harmony seeking and rejection avoidance) and dual independence (distinctiveness of the self and self‐expression), fit the data better than alternative models across cultures. The invariance tests provided evidence to support partial configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the revised scales across cultures. The validity tests provided evidence to support construct and predictive validity of the revised scales across cultures. The results were discussed and the implications were offered.
• Argumentation and culture: A review

  Shinobu Suzuki

  The Journal of Intercultural Communication 23 15 - 32 2020/05 [Refereed]
  
• A cross-cultural comparison of argument structures: Korea, Japan, and the United States

  Shinobu Suzuki

  Journal of Intercultural Communication 21 (1) 39 - 53 2018/05 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• An elaboration likelihood explanation for structures of written arguments on a controversial issue

  Shinobu Suzuki

  Japanese Journal of Communication Studies 46 (1) 5 - 22 2017/05 [Refereed][Not invited]
  
• Culture change in organizational public discourse 1998-2008: Examining annual reports of Japanese and US corporations

  Shinobu Suzuki

  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS 37 (5) 579 - 593 0147-1767 2013/09 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  This study examines changes in organizational cultures of Japanese and US corporations between 1998 and 2008 through the lens of communication. Specifically, it analyzes organizational values that are manifest in the use of specific terms in the texts of corporate annual reports (N = 255). By doing so, this study empirically determines the patterns that describe over-time changes in organizational cultures of Japanese and US corporations. Theoretically, this study investigates whether the basic premise of the theory of convergence is applicable to the study of organizational culture change. To that end, three dimensions of organizational values performance, continuity, and growth have been derived. To test the hypotheses and the research question offered, this study examines the effects of time in years, national culture, and the interaction between the two on the three value dimensions. Using linear growth model analysis, this study found that time and national culture had significant effects on the use of the terms related to the performance and continuity dimensions. The effects were not significant for the growth dimension. In none of the cases, the interaction effects between time and national culture were significant. The results provided evidence to support the parallel change pattern for the performance and continuity dimensions and the unitary stability pattern for the growth dimension. The findings partially support the premise of the theory of convergence. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Perceptions of the Qualities of Written Arguments by Japanese Students

  Shinobu Suzuki

  WRITTEN COMMUNICATION 28 (4) 380 - 402 0741-0883 2011/10 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  This study examines how Japanese students perceive the qualities of written arguments that were constructed to have different forms. Based on the theoretical dimensions of verbal communication styles that Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey (1988) proposed, the research questions asked whether the respondents would perceive direct arguments to be of higher quality than indirect arguments. They also asked whether they would perceive elaborate arguments to be of higher quality than succinct arguments. Japanese college students voluntarily responded to a questionnaire. The results revealed that they gave higher ratings to direct arguments than to indirect arguments for both of the two indicators, and higher ratings to elaborate arguments than to succinct arguments for two indicators out of the three. The results were discussed and implications were offered.
• Trait and state approaches to explaining argument structures

  Shinobu Suzuki

  Communication Quarterly 59 (1) 123 - 143 0146-3373 2011/01 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  This study examines how an individual's argumentative communication traits and involvement, a situational factor, account for the way the individual structures his or her written argument. Research questions were posited to ask which of the 3 models- the Interaction Model, the Mediation Model, and the Simple Main Effects Model-best predicts the use of macro- and micro-structures of written argument. Logistic and multiple regression analyses were conducted to analyze 229 usable responses collected from Japanese college students. The results revealed that the Mediation Model and the Simple Main Effects Model are viable models. Argumentative traits and involvement interrelate to explain argument structures, revealing a somewhat complex but interpretable mechanism. © 2011 Eastern Communication Association.
• Forms of written arguments: A comparison between Japan and the United States

  Shinobu Suzuki

  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS 34 (6) 651 - 660 0147-1767 2010/11 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  Studying cultural differences in argument forms helps us understand the nature of communicative problems that inevitably arise in intercultural conflict and negotiation. Although a number of studies have been conducted in the past to examine cultural differences in arguments, we still do not have sufficient evidence to support that cultural groups actually differ in the manners in which they construct arguments. Given the situation, this study empirically examines whether and how cultural groups differ in forms of written arguments. Based on the theoretical framework of verbal communication styles proposed by Gudykunst and Ting-Toomey, this study employs two dimensions along which two cultural groups, Japan and the United States, are likely to differ: direct-indirect and elaborate-succinct. Five indicators of argument forms that represent values on either of the two dimensions are used to analyze differences in argument forms between the two cultural groups. A survey was conducted in Japan and the United States. A total of 329 responses from college students, including 239 from Japan and 90 from the United States, were analyzed to test the hypotheses offered in this study. Consistent with the hypotheses, results indicate that the arguments written by the Japanese respondents are significantly more indirect and succinct those written by the U.S. counterparts. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• In-group and out-group communication patterns in international organizations - Implications for social identity theory

  S Suzuki

  COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 25 (2) 154 - 182 0093-6502 1998/04 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  This study sought to find out whether social distance associated with social identity manifests itself in intergroup differentiation in communication patterns in multiple types of communication networks with the in-group and out-group members. Survey data were collected from workers in international organizations with bicultural (U.S. and Japanese) workforces. The results provided evidence to support the first hypothesis that the overall patterns differ between in-group and out-group communication for both the U.S. and Japanese samples. Three other hypotheses predict ed that, compared to workers who do not exhibit much identification with their in-groups, those highly identified with their in-groups communicate in such a manner that manifests more social distance from the out-group members and less social distance from the in-group members. Although the results provided some evidence to support the hypotheses, they suggest that the relationship between social identification and intergroup differentiation is more complex than anticipated. Theoretical implications are discussed.
• Cultural transmission in international organizations - Impact of interpersonal communication patterns in intergroup contexts

  S Suzuki

  HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 24 (1) 147 - 180 0360-3989 1997/09 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  This study examined how organizational cultures are transmitted and maintained through interactions among organizational members across intergroup boundaries. The major hypothesis of interest was that the fetal number of individuals' out-group communication net work links predicts the degree of individual-out-group transmission of work-related values and beliefs. The research design involved a survey of workers in international organizations with bicultural workforces (U.S. and Japanese). A total of 118 responses were submitted to a series of multiple regression analyses. The results provided evidence to support the relationship between communication and cultural transmission. Theoretically, it addressed two issues that have not been dealt with in social influence theories. First, it identified different types of social influence: agreement, accuracy, and congruency derived from the coorientation model. Second, it identified specific conditions under which social influence takes place by examining relational proximity in three different types of networks.
• ARGUMENTATIVENESS AND VERBAL AGGRESSIVENESS - TESTING FOR CONCEPTUAL AND MEASUREMENT EQUIVALENCE ACROSS CULTURES

  S SUZUKI, AS RANCER

  COMMUNICATION MONOGRAPHS 61 (3) 256 - 279 0363-7751 1994/09 [Refereed][Not invited]
   

  Research in the United States has identified argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness as, respectively, constructive and counterproductive forms of communication predispositions. The present study tests the conceptual equivalence of the two constructs and the measurement equivalence of the Argumentativeness Scale (Infante & Rancer, 1982) and the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale (Infante & Wigley, 1986) across cultures. College students from the United States (N = 755) and Japan (N = 716) responded to a questionnaire. The results indicated that: (a) the two-factor solution of the Argumentativeness Scale and the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale was a reasonable overall fit to both samples, with some culture-specific unreliable items; (b) orthogonality of the two constructs held for both samples; (c) the factor structures (factor loading patterns and factor variance-covariance structures) of the two scales were partially variant across the samples; and (d) the two scales had satisfactory construct validity for the Japanese sample. Implications for research on aggressive communication in connection with Hall's (1981) theory of cultural variation, cross-cultural conflict management, and measurement in cross-cultural communication research are discussed.

MISC

• The future of artificial intelligence and human communication

  鈴木志のぶ  Japanese Journal of Communication Studies  52-  (2)  133  -138  2024/02
• Structural Features of Informal Argument Constructed by Learners of Japanese : Differences between Advanced and Superior Learners

  SUZUKI Shinobu  Speech communication education  19-  (0)  95  -112  2006  [Refereed][Not invited]
  

Research Grants & Projects

• 国際企業の組織文化変容を検証する縦断的研究：日米企業報告書のテキスト分析

  日本学術振興会：科学研究費助成事業

  Date (from‐to) : 2020/04 -2023/03 

  Author : 鈴木 志のぶ

   

  本研究はグローバルな経営環境変化が日米の組織文化に及ぼす影響を縦断的実証研究によって明らかにする。令和2年度までの活動を基に、令和3年度は本研究を実質的に前進させた。 まず、米国証券取引委員会がEDGAR（the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system）によってオンライン公開している企業の年次報告書データを入手した。2010-2019に米国で株式公開を行っていた日本企業15社を選び、業種、企業規模等の点で日本企業15社のそれぞれに匹敵する米国企業15社を選択した。分析を適切に行う観点から、組織文化のうち、2021年度は特にリスク・コミュニケーションの部分に焦点を当て、年次報告書のうち関係する部分のテキスト・データを収集した。理論的枠組みとして、Hofstede（2001）による不確実性回避の文化差の概念と、Inkeles（1998）による文化間の（社会政治的構造、価値観、考え方などの）収束の概念を用いた。 分析の結果、以下が明らかになった。（1）リスクをステークホルダーに伝えるコミュニケーションにおいて、そこに表出する否定的な感情語の相対的出現頻度は、米企業よりも日本企業の方が強く、また時の変化に伴い、両国とも類似した変化を示した。（2）リスク・コミュニケーションに現れるトピックには両国に共通点が見られ、上位のトピックは、ITセキュリティー、株主の権利、現材料の安定的調達、為替、知的財産であった。（3）各トピックの顕在性については、一部を除き、文化差よりも時の変化が大きく影響し、2010-2019の期間、両国とも概ね類似した変化を示した。以上の結果は、上に挙げた二つの理論の主張を基本的に支持するものである。この研究結果は、論文の形で成果となった。
• A Model to Explain Argument Forms and Its Application to Computer-Mediated Communication

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research

  Date (from‐to) : 2011/04 -2015/03 

  Author : SUZUKI Shinobu

   

  The purpose of this study is to identify factors that explain qualities of individuals’ arguments as well as those that account for changes in individuals’ cognitions in text-based computer-mediated communication. The findings are twofold. First, this study identified multiple determinants that affect the qualities of individuals’ arguments. Second, this study found that belief discrepancy (i.e., the difference in belief between the individual and the others) and the individual’s making arguments affect the degree to which his or her belief and confidence change (i.e., change in belief strength and confidence in the belief).
• Developing A Model to Explain Argument Structures and Its Application to English Language Education

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research

  Date (from‐to) : 2008 -2010 

  Author : SUZUKI Shinobu

   

  The present research project has accomplished four main goals. First, it compared structures of written arguments between the Japanese and the U.S. people, identifying differences that are consistent with intercultural theories of communication. Second, it successfully identified two individual-level factors, one situational and the other trait, that explain differences in structures of written arguments. Third, it examined perceptions of the qualities of written arguments among Japanese people. Fourth, based on the findings of the present research project, it successfully developed materials for teaching how to structure arguments in English to college students.
• Developing a Cross-Cultural Model for Explaining Differences in Argument Structures

  Japan Society for the Promotion of Science：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research

  Date (from‐to) : 2006 -2007 

  Author : SUZUKI Shinobu

   

  This project has two major purposes: (a) to find out an effective way of understanding structural features of informal argument and (b) to examine variables that explain differences in the structural features of informal argument. To accomplish the goals, arguments written by college students on controversial issues were collected and analyzed. The following are the major findings of this project. (1) It was found that Suzuki's argument coding scheme (2005, 2006) is capable of describing informal written arguments with an acceptable reliability of above.8. (2) The following indicators describe argument features successfully: (a) two horizontal micro structural indicators, which include spoke and chain horizontal micro structures, (b) two vertical micro structural indicators, which include serial and compound micro reasoning structures, and c two macro structural indicators, which include climactic-anticlimactic and horizontal-vertical macro structures. (3) For the Japanese sample, the model proposed in this study can explain the relationships between the variables (argumentativeness and involvement) and the use of structural indicators in written arguments. (4) There appears to be relationships between culture, self-construal, and argumentativeness, which may provide a reason why people from different cultures differ in the way they construct argument.

Educational Activities

Teaching Experience